Trump Heads to Upstate New York As Midterm Rallies Roll On

Hochul has made New York more expensive, while families struggle with high taxes, rising utility bills, and concerns about public safety. New Yorkers deserve better. As Nassau County Executive, I cut taxes, balanced budgets, and made public safety a priority. As governor, I will bring that same leadership statewide, make New York safer, and make New York affordable.

— Bruce Blakeman (@NassauExec) October 9, 2026

The Republican was also recently endorsed by liberal actress Debra Messing, according to the New York Post. 

“While far-left Democrats like Kathy Hochul and socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani tax New Yorkers into oblivion and protect violent illegal aliens, President Trump and Republicans are lowering costs and forcing blue states to keep dangerous criminals off the street,” Natalie Baldassarre, National Press Secretary for the Republican National Committee, said in a press release on Friday. 

Blakeman said in a post on Friday that he will “make New York safer, and make New York affordable.”

The Hochul campaign criticized the upcoming Trump visit.

“NY GOPers have already called this the ‘nail in the coffin’ and ‘political suicide for Blakeman’ – we call it a fitting farewell to a campaign that’s kept it ‘100% MAGA’ all year, putting Trump before New York every single time,” a Hochul campaign spokesperson told Townhall in a statement. 

Hochul became governor in 2021 following then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo's (D-NY) resignation. She was then elected in 2022 in a highly competitive contest against Republican Lee Zeldin, who is now the EPA administrator. The Democrat defeated Zeldin 53-47% in the general election. 

The president has made numerous visits around the country in recent days to boost candidates ahead of the midterms, including to Nebraska, Texas and Ohio. He is also expected to go to more states in the coming weeks as he aims to retain the Republican majority in both chambers of Congress.